Canada appoint ex Real Madrid boss as manager

Former Real Madrid manager Benito Floro has been appointed manager of the Canada national team and will be assisted by his son, Antonio Floro Esteve.

Floro becomes Canada’s first permanent coach in more than nine months after previous manager Stephen Hart resigned in October following a humiliating 8-1 defeat to Honduras and an early exit from World Cup qualification.

The appointment of the 61-year-old is the strongest indication for some time of Canada’s aspirations to improve and reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

Speaking at his presentation in Toronto the Spaniard expressed his desire to make the Canucks successful,

“I want to thank the Canadian Soccer Association for appointing me as Canada men’s national team’s coach. I hope to fulfil all the goals of the country; it will be difficult but we are going to work towards that with a lot of vision.”

Canadian Soccer Association President Victor Montagliani was delighted to bring Floro on board,

“The Canadian Soccer Association is thrilled to bring such an accomplished soccer mind to lead our next phase of development in the men’s national team programme.”

This may be his first job as the boss of a national team but Floro brings a wealth of experience to the new role having managed a host of clubs over a 30-year career including Real Madrid from 1992-1994 where he won the Copa Del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, Villarreal and Real Mallorca. He has also coached teams in Ecuador, Japan, Mexico and Morocco.